1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a saddle-ride type vehicle which includes a fuel tank covered with a cover member.
2. Description of Background Art
A saddle-ride type vehicle whose fuel tank is covered with a tank cover has been heretofore known. See, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-161016.
The saddle-ride type vehicle described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-161016 includes an integrally-molded center cover in which an opening corresponding to a position of a fuel filler neck is made and paired left and right side covers molded separately from the center cover and disposed on the respective left and right sides of the center cover in such a way as to cover the fuel tank from its sides. The saddle-ride type vehicle is configured in that the center cover and the side covers (hereinafter these covers are referred to as a “tank cover” depending on the necessity) are fastened to the fuel tank with bolts.
However, in the saddle-ride type vehicle described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-161016, the tank cover is fastened to the fuel tank with the bolts. For this reason, when an excessive load is applied to the tank cover, the fuel tank receives the load, and thus may be deformed or subjected to other risks.
With this taken into consideration, the strength of the fuel tank needs to be increased to such a degree that the fuel tank is not easily deformed even when receiving a load through the tank cover, by taking measures such as increasing the thickness of a steel plate constituting the fuel tank. This makes it difficult to decrease the weight of the fuel tank.